Jumper with four seconds left beats Hofstra
Hofstra University #23 Mike Moore tries to drive to the basket in the second half of an NCAA men's basketball game vs. Florida Atlantic University. (Nov. 22, 2011) Credit: James Escher
Mike Moore looked up at the ceiling from time to time, frustration simmering just beneath the surface.
He sat stone-faced as he answered questions about Hofstra's loss to James Madison and its pistol of a point guard, Humpty Hitchens.
The 5-9 Hitchens helped chip away at Hofstra's double-digit second-half lead and delivered the final crushing blow: a short jumper with four seconds left that gave the Dukes a 62-60 win over the Pride Saturday at the Mack Sports Complex.
Moore, who scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half, hit a driving layup with 26 seconds left to make it 60-60. After Hitchens broke the tie, Moore -- who has scored at least 20 points in six of Hofstra's eight games -- heaved a desperation three-pointer from near midcourt that was off the mark.
"I'm really proud of our team the way they battled today," said Hofstra coach Mo Cassara, whose team had led by 10 twice in the second half. "We continue to be in every game. I'm really proud of that . . . We have to learn how to win. That's a skill, that's a talent that we have. We just haven't been able to execute quite well enough yet."
Hitchens, who nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer from at least four steps behind the midcourt line to end the first half, had 20 points. A.J. Davis had 12 points and Julius Wells 11 for JMU. David Imes had 10 points and seven rebounds for Hofstra.
Hofstra dropped to 3-5 after losing the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both teams. The Pride's winning streak against James Madison (4-2) ended at 12 games.
After a big first half, Moore became, as he put it, a facilitator as the game wore on and the Dukes picked up the defensive pressure on him.
"Obviously, they must have keyed in on me a little bit more, coming off screens and just overall," said Moore, who shot 8- for-16 from the field and 4-for-9 from three-point range and had seven rebounds. "My teammates made some big shots for me. They kept us in the game."
The Pride went ahead 47-37 on Stephen Nwaukoni's layup with 11:15 remaining before the Dukes went on a 13-3 run and tied the score at 50 with 7:02 left.
JMU entered the game ranked third in the nation with a .469 three-point percentage, but the Pride held the Dukes to 6-for-21 shooting from beyond the arc.
Said Cassara, "We really felt like we had it under control and we just weren't able to execute down the stretch."
